AP: Defense workers warned about spy coins

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Michael Slavitch <michael.slavitch () e2exchange com>
Date: January 11, 2007 10:46:45 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: Re: [IP] AP: Defense workers warned about spy coins

The bi-metallic Canadian $2.00 coin, normally bears an image of a  
polar bear in the center section that can be popped out with some  
effort. Early coins popped out simply by heating on a cast-iron  
skillet as they contained dissimilar metals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonie

The core of the coin could be easily replaced with a fabricated metal  
RFID device, and to someone unfamiliar with the coins it would have  
the same look and feel, especially if the false coin was fabricated  
to match a special edition as any flaws in weight and design would be  
ignored as a part and parcel of the special edition.

Several editions of the $2.00 coin have been produced.

Regards

M

On 1/11/07, David Farber <dave () farber net > wrote:

Begin forwarded message:

From: bobr () bobrosenberg phoenix az us
Date: January 11, 2007 12:54:40 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: AP: Defense workers warned about spy coins

Dave

Speaking of RFID's... or....

Any IPer's have coins in their pockets?

Bob Rosenberg
P.O. Box 33023
Phoenix, AZ  85067-3023
Mobile:  602-206-2856
LandLine:  602-274-3012
bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us


  Defense workers warned about spy coins

By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 4 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/spy_coins

Can the coins jingling in your pocket trace your movements? The
Defense Department
is warning its American contractor employees about a new espionage
threat seemingly
straight from Hollywood: It discovered Canadian coins with tiny radio
frequency
transmitters hidden inside.

In a U.S. government report, it said the mysterious coins were found
planted on U.S.
contractors with classified security clearances on at least three
separate occasions
between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled
through Canada.

The U.S. report doesn't suggest who might be tracking American
defense contractors
or why. It also doesn't describe how the Pentagon discovered the
ruse, how the
transmitters might function or even which Canadian currency contained
them.

Further details were secret, according to the U.S. Defense Security
Service, which
issued the warning to the Pentagon's classified contractors. The
government insists
the incidents happened, and the risk was genuine.

"What's in the report is true," said Martha Deutscher, a spokeswoman
for the
security service. "This is indeed a sanitized version, which leaves a
lot of
questions."

Top suspects, according to intelligence and technology experts:
China, Russia or
even France — all said to actively run espionage operations inside
Canada with
enough sophistication to produce such technology.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service said it knew nothing about
the coins.

"This issue has just come to our attention," CSIS spokeswoman Barbara
Campion said.
"At this point, we don't know of any basis for these claims." She
said Canada's
intelligence service works closely with its U.S. counterparts and
will seek more
information if necessary.

Experts were astonished about the disclosure and the novel tracking
technique, but
they quickly rejected suggestions Canada's government might be spying
on American
contractors. The intelligence services of the two countries are
extraordinarily
close and routinely share sensitive secrets.

"It would seem unthinkable," said David Harris, former chief of
strategic planning
for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "I wouldn't expect to
see any
offensive operation against the Americans."

Harris said likely candidates include foreign spies who targeted
Americans abroad or
businesses engaged in corporate espionage. "There are certainly a lot
of mysterious
aspects to this," Harris said.

Experts said such tiny transmitters would almost certainly have
limited range to
communicate with sensors no more than a few feet away, such as ones
hidden inside a
doorway.

"I'm not aware of any (transmitter) that would fit inside a coin and
broadcast for
kilometers," said Katherine Albrecht, an activist who believes such
technology
carries serious privacy risks. "Whoever did this obviously has access
to some pretty
advanced technology."

Experts said hiding tracking technology inside coins is fraught with
risks because
the spy's target might inadvertently give away the coin or spend it
buying coffee or
a newspaper.

They agreed, however, that a coin with a hidden tracking device might
not arose
suspicion if it were discovered loose in a pocket or briefcase.

"It wouldn't seem to be the best place to put something like that;
you'd want to put
it in something that wouldn't be left behind or spent," said Jeff
Richelson, a
researcher and author of books about the CIA and its gadgets. "It
doesn't seem to
make a whole lot of sense."

Canada's physically largest coins include its $2 "Toonie," which is
more than 1-inch
across and thick enough to hide a tiny transmitter. The CIA has
acknowledged its own
spies have used hollow, U.S. silver-dollar coins to hide messages and
film.

The government's 29-page report was filled with other espionage
warnings. It
described unrelated hacker attacks, eavesdropping with miniature pen
recorders and
the case of a female foreign spy who seduced her American boyfriend
to steal his
computer passwords.

In another case, a film processing company called the FBI after it
developed
pictures for a contractor that contained classified images of U.S.
satellites and
their blueprints. The photo was taken from an adjoining office window.

___

On the Web:

CIA hollow coin: https://http://www.cia.gov/cia/information/artifacts/
dollar.htm

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The
information
contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or
redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated
Press.
Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
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